Physical discs don’t solve the problem on their own, though. Many games sold on discs still require online servers to function, and generally, the end-user license agreements make it clear that the user is purchasing a revocable license, not actual ownership of the media, even if the files are burned onto something physical. There are also numerous examples of games where the version that shipped on the disc was meaningfully distinct from the version players ultimately know because of patches.
So it makes sense that consumers and their representatives are turning to legislation like this to drive a change in industry practices. There have been activist and lobbying movements, such as Stop Killing Games, that have been advocating for change on this front, but different proposed bills around the world have suggested different kinds of solutions.
While the announcement does not say the bill requires online servers to remain online, it requires normally online-only games to offer offline modes of play so players can keep playing long after servers might be shut down. The way some online games are engineered, that may not be feasible, so this could require developers to take very different approaches to some online games’ architecture.
This bill’s proposal does not guarantee it will become law; it still has a long path ahead, and most proposed legislation never even makes it to a vote. And since the full text of the bill is not yet publicly available, it’s not yet possible to assess its effectiveness or enforceability.
Source: Ars Technica · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing